It's no secret that social media (and the companies that develop them) have long since moved away from being platforms that connect you with your loved ones quickly and easily to becoming mere entertainment media, developing a highly addictive system that favours the voracious consumption of content of varying quality over socialisation. Since the launch and almost simultaneous popularisation of TikTok, other popular social media platforms have decided to incorporate similar features and algorithms that seek engagement over individual preference. We all know how harmful this is becoming to the mental health of millions around the world, and that there is a very simple solution: uninstalling social media. However, many of us are not willing to get rid of them, as an important part of our social life takes place there. That is why I have decided to compile several solutions that I have found over the years to get rid of short-form content, so that we can use social networks for what it was supposed to be, social networking, and finally regain the time we thought we had lost.
The starting point should be TikTok, as it is the short-form content platform par excellence. Precisely because it is a social network exclusively for this type of content, it is also the easiest to deal with. Simply deleting the app would be enough; however, a feature was developed some time ago that keeps many users hooked: the Streak. If you have a streak with a friend or family member, it is best to talk to that person about ending it; they will most likely understand. Another possibility (which is what I personally use) is to keep the app installed but add extra steps to access it so that we don't open it out of habit. What worked for me was to remove the icon from the home screen and hide it in the iOS App Library, requiring Face ID to open the app. A reasonable time limit is also a good idea.
Moving on to Twitter, I recommend installing Control Panel for Twitter. This extension is available for most popular browsers for both desktop and mobile. Among other things, it allows you to open the 'Following' tab by default, remove the 'For You' section entirely, and also remove all X branding, bringing back the iconic bird that should never have gone away. It's as if Elon Musk had never bought Twitter!
Another platform that has heavily invested in short-form content is YouTube, shoving its shorts in a really intrusive way. Again, there are several browser extensions that allow you to remove any unwanted access to YouTube Shorts, even redirecting any Shorts links to a regular video page. Youtube-shorts block is one of them, and is available on most browsers. On mobile, there are several unofficial YouTube clients such as ReVanced that allow you to do the same.
Oh, and please don't go on YouTube without an ad blocker (and SponsorBlock doesn't hurt either).
Of all the main social networks, Instagram is by far the most intrusive regarding short-form content. I'm sure you can relate to this succession of events: you open the app to see what your friends have been up to during the day, you watch a few stories, chat with your pal, and suddenly you realise you've wasted 30 minutes watching reels without even knowing how you got there in the first place. The thing is, Instagram is full of dark patterns that 'accidentally' take you to Reels, and, of course, it offers no way to disable them. Heck, a few years ago they even tried to make Reels the home page.
But some time ago, I discovered a way to poison the algorithm so that you wouldn't even think about swiping to see the next reel again; a very simple yet truly ridiculous method. We'll need an alternative or abandoned account (it has to be your own, don't be a prick, please), and find the typical post that tells you to 'share this post or have 10 years of bad luck' (there are many variations, the most effective ones are those that ask you to share the post 4 times; yep, people are that gullible). I know that many of you are not superstitious, neither am I, but what matters is that what the Instagram algorithm thinks about you. The point is to send these posts to yourself without exception. Step by step, the Instagram algorithm will fill up with these kinds of posts until you reach the point where, whenever you enter Reels, you are given a 'digital jinx'. Then, you have to keep sharing these kinds of videos to feed the algorithm, which also serves as a wake-up call to do something else with your life. With this, we have Reels completely neutralised. In my experience, this does not affect the functionality of the rest of the app, not even the Search section, but I cannot guarantee this 100%.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: I have only tested this method on my main account, I do not know if it will be as effective in different cases, and it might not be the best idea to do this if you are really superstitious. I do not know if there is any way to revert to the original algorithm either (I imagine it will depend on your level of superstition), so for now, this method should be considered permanent.
This topic really has a lot to talk about, so I might continue writing about these stuff. What do you think? You can give your opinion by clicking on the 'Clap' button below and filling your comment.
